I have a tendency to believe the worst is headed our way, and then more times then not that ends up cutting to the bone of the issue and manifesting, as it were, the worst of the worst outcomes. Which sucks, obviously. But if we are to accept the farcical reality that the things for which we dream come back to us as weapons to cut us down, then it would only then make sense to assume the opposite is true, in this megalomaniacal fiction of thought actualisation that we've built for ourselves. To that end, how about I throw down the gauntlet and suppose something positive for a change, a move from a company that loves to irk at me, which could start to push us in a better direction, if we're lucky. (Please be on my side for once, guys!)
Sony, exclusive owners of some of the most premier game developers in the world whom they jealously hoard on their insular platforms for fear of being out performed by their competitors. Although to be fair to the boys, it is their success with exclusivity which has encouraged those competitors to slowly stock up on great pro-consumer alternatives that have slowly turned them into better places to game. The Xbox Game Pass? I doubt that would exist in a world without overwhelming Sony Exclusivity! Steam summer sales? Actually, Steam has been doing ridiculous sales since time immemorial, god knows what started it and hopefully only he is capable of stopping it- how else are we ever going to get content for our strategy games- have you see how much those suckas rack up? I can't tell you the last strategy game I've seen with less than £100 worth of DLC- Steam Summer Sales are a requirement for access.
Now, over the years I think the general gamer has found themselves more and more oppressed under the boot of Sony as they've found game access repeatedly witheld under their ecosystem for several long years without any hope of ports. Sure, Sony have gradually started to ease up on that policy once they realised that they reached the cap on PC users they could convert into Playstation players through threats alone, but we're still not at a point of any decent parity. Or at least, we haven't been up until now. Without any actual announcement of change on the horizon, what we have actually received is a hint in the way of a tiny bit of text at the bottom of the new Final Fantasy VII Rebirth trailer that promises Playstation exclusivity for only three months. Now to be clear, that is the time in which Sony promises there won't be another version of the game, and that does not automatically mean a PC port will drop the day after that wears off. All it means is that such a port could come after that date, and that prospect alone is... actually not bad.
If I were to guess I'd imagine this is more of a Square Enix stipulation rather than a Sony one, because Square are reportedly rather burned about the sales that Final Fantasy XVI ended scoring despite the millions it made and the appeal that game received. Square are notoriously high goal setters that are difficult to please, so maybe they genuinely forgot to account for the shrunken player pool they were selling to, but if the result is a much shrunk length of time between FF7Rebirth coming to the rest of the gaming world I can be happy with that outcome. Heck, the game will still be somewhat relevant after 3 months, I'd call that an absolute win! Maybe the Sony ecosystem can learn a bit from the coming-out-of-it's-shell arc that FF is going through! Maybe this can lead to a more inclusive future for- wait a minute, what are you doing XBOX! NO- You'll ruin us all!
The question about what exactly Microsoft is intending for some of it's higher profile developer purchasers has hung over our head like swinging Damoclean swords- leaving Playstation players wondering if they're ever going to enjoy a Bethesda game again. For a time the Microsoft overlords were playing things very close-to-the-chest, claiming that no mind had been made up on exclusivity and they are merely committing to a Starfield Xbox only launch. There was even talk that Starfield might someday come to Playstation if we were all just patient enough. Patience is no longer the virtue it once was considered, however, because now that Starfield has released despite the nay saying of the game's detractors it appears the game is an impossible to ignore hit. And that comes with consequences.
Once such being that according to leaks, Microsoft is now deadset on their future of Bethesda games being exclusively Xbox from this point- reinforcing the tedium that is the 'exclusivity war' from the otherside of the glass. Of course, when asked to choose between a rock and a hard place I'm always going to side with the guys that are open to PC players and don't try to punish them as well, but the precedent is still a rough one to set. I bet this is another power play to try and twist Sony's arm into letting Gamepass onto the Playstation, because that would absolutely come with access to these 'exclusives' if only Sony will relent ever last ounce of their self respect and autonomy to become Xbox's dogsbodies.
Still I consider exclusivity play to be the lowest form of console value building, profiteering off of developer's work to wage a war of 'FOMO' and 'access denial' is pretty unimaginative and asinine tactics from what are meant to be the two 'leaders of the industry'. We should be gambling with ways in which the hardware and platform can be improved, win over consumers with competing great deals and customer-first innovations. Here's an idea: why don't we all rally around which platform is forward thinking enough to do away with the pathetic jump to £70 that the industry has been so awful at justifying this generation? Do something that has a net good for everyone? No? Is that too much hard work? Better to use customers as ammunition, huh?
We all understand the purpose of exclusivity and it's role has been one of frustration since the practice began. Those that profess deceptively egalitarian desires to 'bring gaming to as many people as possible' withhold venomous greed barely hidden beneath the mask. All I'm asking is for the battles between these companies to be held in the higher offices, make it back room deals about crap which doesn't lesson the pool of great games available to the world so that gamers and developers can get back to the one-to-one relationship we all wish that we had. And for the love of god someone port Bloodbourne, it's embarrassing trying to be a Souls fan without having played the one most people consider their absolute favourite!
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